All These Special Moments
by WishingDreamer5
Summary: Now would probably be a great time for the ground to open up and swallow her. Anything was better than her having to deal with this kind of embarrassment... -A collection about Terra's and Aqua's most special 'first time' moments in their long relationship; first meeting, first wounds, first kisses... The two have shared more first moments than they realize, be it awkward or not.
1. First Meeting

**A/N: I own nothing of KH, but this story is mine. I got a little stuck with my other stories, so here's my logic: just start another story and make it even harder for yourself... I know, I make no sense at all, but after I reread some parts of my story _Prankwar_ I just felt like writing about this pairing again. A CloudxTifa story 'The First Time' by Razzmatazzy inspired me to do this. And if you have any ideas, suggestions or requests about a certain first moment between them that you want me to write about, I'm all ears. Please keep it T-rated, though. For now, this story will probably have only eleven chapters. This chapter isn't that special, though, because I've written at least 4 times about how these two met. Still, I hope you'll enjoy this. Terra's eleven years old here and Aqua's ten. :)**

**The story cover is drawn by ~luckcharm (on dA) for me. Please don't use it without her permission.**

**© WishingDreamer5, February 2012**

**Special thanks: RoseOfADifferentColor, for her magnificent beta skills. :)**

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><p><em>~ If Terra had to describe her, he would say that she looked exactly like a doll. ~<em>

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><p>It was another boring, average day in the Land of Departure. The weather was warm and clear; Terra enjoyed being outside feeling the sun on his lightly tanned skin. There was absolutely nothing special about this day, or so he assumed.<p>

He was in the midst of fine-tuning a newly taught move when Master Eraqus had called him over. Curious, as to what the older man wanted, he stopped his training and headed towards the castle, as fast as his legs could carry him. After all, he didn't want to disappoint his master, the man he respected, admired and looked up to since the moment they had met. And that was when it happened; at that moment, everything, his _whole world_ started spinning. It made him dizzy beyond belief, but in a good way.

"Terra, I'd like to introduce you to a new trainee, who will stay with us from now on. Her name is Aqua..." Eraqus introduced, once Terra had reached them.

_Aqua..._ He'd never heard of such a name before. It sounded foreign and just plain _different_.

Needless to say, everything the Master said onward, went unheard by the awestruck boy, because her cerulean eyes demanded his attention. He simply couldn't tear his gaze away from her eyes, a pair of the deepest, brightest blue he had ever seen, radiating mystery and innocence with every look.

If Terra had to describe her in one word, he would say that she looked like a doll. Not a Barbie doll, though, because those were plastic things that pretended to be perfect. The girl standing before her wasn't that way at all. She was as real as his dreams... if that made any sense. It did to him. That was not all, though; Aqua looked so incredibly innocent, so fragile that if Terra pushed her too hard, then she would break surely. Or perhaps her image would fade away, clearing up like mist.

_Well, then I have to be extra careful, and protect her from people that want to __hurt her_, the brunet male concluded.

When she smiled shyly at him, he felt his cheeks burn, imagining the shade of red they were currently turning.

After Master Eraqus had finished his unheard speech, he said, "Well then, I'll leave you two to get know each other. I shall be in my study if you need me."

With that, he headed back inside leaving the children without supervision. The instant he was gone, Terra felt slightly awkward, not knowing how to act around this new girl. He'd been an only child and the only thing he knew about girls was the fact that they were weird. Right now, it was like she was trying to avoid eye contact with him... Or was he imagining it? The brunet boy was vaguely aware of how long his arms were. He had to look stupid with his arms hanging limply at his sides, with no idea what to do with them.

Then, out of the blue, she asked, "So what were you doing?"

He almost jumped at the unexpected sound of her voice. It sounded sweet, shy and a tad bit curious, her pitch almost melodic.

"What, when?" he asked, his brows furrowed into a light frown.

"Before the Master called you, I meant."

Oh, of course. _That_. After all, what else could she mean? He wanted to hit himself for not realizing that, but refrained. That probably wouldn't leave a good impression on her.

_For Heaven's Sake, Terra, stop panicking like that! You'll look like even more of an idiot. Honestly, it's not like she's gonna bite your head off now. This girl's probably more nervous than you are. _He thought, internally admonishing himself.

"Oh. Uhm...training," he muttered, looking away, abashed.

"Ah... I see."

And the subject went dead right there, as they stood awkwardly in the middle of the green field.

Meanwhile, Terra tried to look at everything else, asides from Aqua. The idea of her watching him train somehow made him feel self conscious, especially because she was a _girl_. That brought extra pressure on his shoulders. Just how long had she been standing there? He tried to come up with a topic to talk about, something that would pique her interest, but his brains didn't seem to cooperate at the moment. Why was it so _hard_to talk with girls?

The blue-haired pupil took a deep steadying breath, before she spoke next, "Can you demonstrate, please?"

This caught Terra completely off-guard, his eyebrows practically disappeared into his hairline as he raised them.

"Uh... _what_?"

"You know, show me what you've learned so far?" As soon as she'd opened her mouth, she blushed, adding in an extra sentence as not to insult him. "But of course, you don't have to do it if you don't want to. I mean... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have as-"

"Sure, why not?" The words were out before he could stop himself.

Terra bit his tongue, closing his eyes because of his stupidity. _I just had to open my big mouth again__! She'll laugh at me for sure, but I can't __take it back now__. I promised her... Okay, I can do this. There's no need to give up without trying. Here I go..._

Terra forgot his self-consciousness and focused on remembering his training. The Master's instructions about using the Keyblade echoed in his mind to use the weapon as an extension of his arm. Everything would be all right. It was a good thing he'd mastered his newest move, or else he would have made himself look like an even bigger fool. He just fervently hoped it wouldn't look that pathetic. He tried not to look at Aqua, fearing her reaction. Little did he know that his audience was thoroughly impressed, she could hardly pull her eyes away.

When he had finished, he let himself fall into the green grass, dismissing his keyblade. Aqua applauded him enthusiastically. This made the brunet look up, confusion clearly written on his face. She was clapping? Why? It wasn't like he'd done something unbelievable.

"Wow, that was so good!" she cried, breathless.

Terra scratched the back of his head, messing up his chocolate-colored hair further. He didn't seem to notice however, or care.

"Uh... thanks, I guess."

"So do you... uhm... Do you think I can do that, too?" She asked, with a hint of shyness to her voice.

"Oh, uhm sure. I don't see why you can't. Master Eraqus is a really good teacher. I bet he can teach us both everything he knows. Maybe even more if he's in a good mood!"

She nodded at his reply, a thoughtful look appearing on her delicate face. "Okay..."

"So, how about I give you a tour of the castle? We wouldn't want you getting lost..." He suggested, smirking slightly.

Almost immediately, a radiant smile appeared on her face. "I'd love to."

"Okay, c'mon."

They both headed to the castle. Although they were unaware, Master Eraqus had been watching his pupils interact with interest. His study window looked out on the courtyard downstairs, an excellent vantage point of the grounds below. It had been a good idea after all to let them alone, so they could get used to each other's presence. The wise man knew that these two would be good friends in no time. Experience told him that children always made friends easily and this was no different with Terra and Aqua.

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><p><strong>AN: So how did you think it went for the first chapter? :)**

**Next chapter: First wounds (...and a crying Aqua?). Updates for this story might be slow, though, because I want to finish my other Terqua story "Amnesia Completa" first, due to it having a deadline.**


	2. First Wounds

**A/N: Whoa, I haven't updated this in forever! And it'll probably take me just as long to finish the next chapter. Thanks a ton for the reviews, favorites and alerts so far! :D Really, it's thanks to you guys that I still have the motivation to post stuff on here. ^-^ Terra's still eleven years old here and Aqua's ten. Hope you'll enjoy this chapter. :)**

**Special thanks: AquaStormXIV, MonMonCandie, Terra ForceXIII, CloudKittyVII, Chandramukhi, Myfandomneedstherapy, Topazdragon98, Jizzle Pop, The Trio of Twilight, outofthesun, FireGypsie, italktotherain, and M. L. Ayala, for her awesome beta reading skills. :)**

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><p><em>~ Terra sucked a little too much at magic to trust himself with it. ~<em>

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><p>It was late in the afternoon when Terra headed back to his bedroom, absolutely beat. His pace, however, was much slower than usual and sometimes, he would even grimace from the sudden bolt of pain that seemed to travel from his stomach to his skull and back again. The former hurt after getting a blow on it. Sure, he already had muttered a quick cure spell over it to alleviate the pain, but it didn't really help that much. Of course, he could've tried a more stronger spell like cura, but truth was, Terra sucked a little too much at magic to trust himself with it. A hurt stomach, he could handle (if barely), but if something worse happened...<p>

He didn't dare tell Master Eraqus about it, either, because he would first scold him for waiting so long before coming to him, and then tell him to take a potion. He hated the bitter taste of it, though. It always reminded him of home, of the bitter times that were his childhood, and how poor they had been during that time. Too poor to buy his ill mother potions to make her overcome her illness. Too poor to pay for a doctor to help her get better. Too poor to be able to give her a proper resting place, let alone a tombstone. Too poor to be noticed by the rest of the world...

He'd learned that one shouldn't waste something that valuable on unnecessary matters. After all, it wasn't like he was going to die from it. No, his wounds would heal by themselves if he left them alone. Since he knew they weren't lethal, he wouldn't need any elixir. He would be alright.

The boy was about to open the bedroom's door when he heard heartbreaking sobbing, coming from the closed door opposite from him. Aqua's room, he realized; one of the few places in this castle that he'd never set foot in before, but at the same time, he was dying to know what it looked like.

But it wasn't like he could just waltz into her room and announce nonchalantly, "Oh hey there, never mind me, I was just wondering what was in this place so I came to take a look."

Hah, the thought alone was too laughable for words, because things were still a little awkward between him the new apprentice. Okay, maybe it was more than a little. It wasn't that he was doing it on purpose or anything, but she was naturally shy and usually wouldn't start a conversation and he... well, he didn't know that much about girls except for the fact that they were _weird_. Not weird like your hyper pets could be sometimes, but_ mysteriously_ weird... if that made any sense.

Terra then frowned, because there the sound was again. Before the brunet boy knew what hit him, his hand, which was already resting on the doorknob, opened the door. He stepped inside, finding the bluenette crouched on the floor, practically crying her eyes out. At first, he wanted to turn around and leave before she would notice him, but he couldn't. His legs refused to listen to his brain and cooperate.

When he saw her in that state, though, something inside him broke. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" he asked.

She didn't even jump when she heard his voice. The little girl that looked so much like a doll didn't reply, but slowly rolled up her blue sleeves, showing him all the dark, angry bruises, forming a stark contrast against her otherwise flawless, milky white skin. And honestly, that said more than enough.

"I-it hurts..." she whispered, before a hiccup escaped her, making her look even more vulnerable.

_Of course it does_, he thought, as guilt started to gnaw at him right then and there.

This was all his fault... Their sparring match, which he had won, albeit barely, had taken its toll on her. You could say a lot about Aqua, but she certainly wasn't weak. That little fact, he'd learned fast enough. But weak or not, she was still new to this life, so he couldn't blame her for crying like this.

Terra habitually ran a hand through his chocolate brown locks. "Hey... I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you like this," he said, truthfully, because something about this sight made him feel _very_ uneasy. Especially now that he knew it was his fault she was in pain. "It won't take long until the pain goes away... I promise. Just... I'm really, really sorry."

"I-it's not your fault. You did what you had to do... I just... it hurts _so much_."

Terra frowned, not sure what he should do next. He was mad at himself. _Stupid, stupid, stupid Terra! Did you have to take out all your anger on her? She's just learned how to summon a Keyblade and here you are, almost killing her off for it. It's a wonder she doesn't hate me. But maybe... she already did..._

After shaking his head to clear it from these thoughts, the silent boy crouched down next to the little girl.

He held her arm in the light for closer inspection, making Aqua wince at the apparently not so gentle touch. "Sorry," he swiftly muttered, loosening his grip on her slightly. "Why didn't you do anything about this? We have potions, you know."

He was sure Master Eraqus had told her this already, because it was important and Master never forgot about such things.

The girl shook her head. "I'd rather let this heal by my own magic, even if it isn't that strong yet when I use it for my own wounds." When she saw that the brunet was about to protest, she swiftly continued, "I only use potions for internal bruises and when it still hurts the next day."

That earned her a long look. Eventually, he gave her a curt nod and she knew that he understood.

Terra, however, couldn't help but feel his respect for her increase. "Alright, then. But if I see you cry again, I'm gonna dump a mega potion on your head," he told her strictly.

Aqua started to laugh, a melodic sound that chased away the palpable silence, and she wiped her tears away. She was still in the middle of that task, when she noticed something about the older pupil that made her gasp and widen her cerulean eyes in shock.

"What?" Terra asked slowly, already sensing that something he didn't like would come next.

"Y-You're... bleeding!" she let out, her eyes almost the size of saucers.

Almost immediately, Terra's brows furrowed. He automatically followed her gaze and looked down. Aqua had been right: his white shirt was now practically soaked with blood, meaning that the wound must've gotten open again because he'd moved so much. Well, at least it explained why it had started hurting even more. Apparently, he'd been so busy with this blue-haired girl that he hadn't noticed his own condition worsening.

"Let me heal you," Aqua proposed.

"I'm fine," was his immediate response and he looked away, but the bluenette would have none of it.

"Lift up your shirt," she insisted.

However, that only made him more grumpy. "I already told you, I'm okay," the brunet pressed stubbornly, his ears becoming red from embarrassment.

He simply hated the fact that the younger wielder of the Keyblade had witnessed this and if he could do anything to keep what little dignity he'd left, then he would do it... Even if it meant refusing to be healed by the fellow apprentice.

Aqua's face fell, as she whispered sadly, "You don't trust me?"

For a moment, all he could do was blink and stare at her dumbly, wondering what in the world trust had to do with this. _Leave it to girls to make everything so unnecessarily complicated_, he thought.

Terra sighed tiredly, growling something inaudible under his breath, before lifting up his shirt to do her a favor. And no, he did _not_ like this!

Hiding a small smile, Aqua took a deep breath, as she tried to concentrate. Her blue bangs fell in front of her face and for a moment, Terra felt like brushing them out of her face. But he was able to stop himself right in time.

"Cura," she muttered and green light emitted from the palm of her hand, which she was currently holding right above his wound.

Even though it didn't really look like it, Terra trusted her enough to let her do so. And he knew he had made the right choice when the soreness near his stomach disappeared completely. He looked down and saw that there was no trace left; his skin had healed completely, without even showing scars. It was still a little warm, but the brunet figured that that was just the aftereffect of the spell.

He let out a light sigh at the pleasant change, before finally looking at her. "...Thanks."

"You're welcome... I just have to check if the spell really covered everything."

Not really sure what she meant, Terra nodded briefly and watched as she slowly lifted up a finger... and suddenly prodded him right where the wound had been a few seconds ago. He jumped, at once jerking away from her when he felt an odd sensation at that place. It made his insides tingle and the brunet boy suddenly found himself having trouble with keeping a straight face.

Aqua's eyes widened and she let out a startled, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't think it would still hurt!"

"No... it's not...not that. I uh... It tickled...slightly," he admitted awkwardly, feeling how his cheeks grew warmer and warmer.

If only the ground would open up and swallow him right now...

"Oh... I'm sorry."

At this point, she was at a complete loss for words and that was clearly showing.

"So uh... I've gotta go," Terra spoke and before Aqua could stop him, he made a dash to the door as though the devil was chasing after him.

Quite honestly, he had witnessed enough awkwardness for today, so it was only logical that he wanted to get away as soon as possible.

Aqua blinked, hearing how Terra's bedroom door closed. "Well... that was weird."

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><p><strong>AN: ****Next chapter: _"Look, I'm sorry if I'm acting not so… nice sometimes. It's just… I'm not used to having other kids around me…"_**


	3. First Fight

**A/N: Holy cow, guys, thanks a ton for the never ending support! :D This was originally _chapter 99. Doll_ of my theme challenge "100 Fish in the Sea," but I decided to expand it. Terra's still eleven years old here and Aqua's ten. I know it's shorter than the previous chapters, but I still hope you'll enjoy. Let me know if there are any errors in this one, since the chapter is unbetaed. :)**

**Thank you: Gohan Roxas, animeluvv679, asdfghjkl anime, miano53, outofthesun, Coolgal342, TheSadisticRedWarrior,** **Neusuada,** **AngelWinds, Walker of Nothing, and Amulet Misty****. :)**

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><p><em>~ <em>"Look, I'm sorry if I'm acting not so… nice sometimes. It's just that… I'm not really used to having other kids around me…"<em> ~_

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><p>Aqua let out a deep sigh. She stared at the doll in her hands, one of the few things she had still left from her home world. It had long, curly blonde hair, big, aquamarine eyes and the doll wore a rather cute, pink dress with a matching hat.<p>

The bluenette's brown were furrowed, as she absent-mindedly adjusted the white bow on the doll's dress. She wondered how many fights she would have with the brunet boy before either of them would break, or worse...

She'd been extremely careful around him these past few days, but obviously, one can't prevent every little accident that's lurking around the corner. The result was a rather fierce argument, which was why she was currently sitting in her bedroom, waiting until it was time to go to sleep. She didn't want to face Terra now, afraid of a follow-up of the fight. He was so odd; all nice and gentleman-ly one time, and just eerily moody the other. He was unpredictable and that frustrated her immensely...

A soft knock on her bedroom door interrupted Aqua's train of thoughts (about the boy who obviously hated her guts: Terra), and her heartbeat sped up almost at once.

"Yes?" she said, unable to suppress that quiver in her voice.

The door opened softly, only to reveal Terra, the last person she wanted to see at the moment.

_Speak about the devil_, she thought.

"Hey, can I come in?" he asked, looking around.

The bluenette gulped, but found herself replying softly, "Yes..."

At that, he quietly entered her room. However, he just stayed near the door, as though he wanted to be close to the exit when things went wrong. Perhaps he could tell that Aqua was a little reluctant about this, or maybe it was because of the past events that he kept his distance this time. To be honest, the girl was only glad about his decision.

When his eyes fell on the small porcelain doll, Aqua held her breath, fearing another mean comment, but all he said was, "Nice doll."

She blinked. Was he being serious now? It didn't sound sarcastic at all...

"…Thanks. My Mom gave it to me before I left home…"

"Oh…" For some inexplicable reason, his face fell at her comment, but he quickly recovered from that. "Look, I'm sorry if I'm acting not so… nice sometimes. It's just that… I'm not really used to having other kids around me. I mean, the castle was so empty and silent before you came and now... So, uhm… Let's go stargazing outside, okay?"

The blue-haired girl was rendered to silence. Sure, it wasn't exactly an apology (not that she was expecting to hear that, anyway), but she figured that it was the closest she could get with someone as proud and stubborn as Terra. This was just his way of telling her that he meant well, but sometimes didn't know what the heck to do with his feelings. He was really doing his best, even if it didn't always go like he wanted. It was kind of sweet when you thought about it.

That was why the younger pupil decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "Sure, I'd love to," she replied sincerely, a small smile adorning her face.

Terra seemed to let out a relieved breath, almost as though he had expected her to say no. "Good. I asked Master Eraqus to buy us ice cream earlier, so I thought maybe... we could take some of that outside and eat it there?"

"Sounds great," Aqua noted, as she jumped out of her bed and walked towards Terra.

She halted right in front of him, staring him deep in the eyes.

"Uh... Why are you looking at me like that?" the boy asked, hesitantly.

After a brief moment of hesitation, she took her hand in his and headed for the door, pulling him with her. This surprised him immensely, but he didn't shake her off. He actually kinda sorta liked the softness of her hand... maybe. And who knew, maybe this was the start of a beautiful friendship. He couldn't give that up, now could he?

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading!**

**Next chapter:_ "I wanna go on an adventure, and find the secret treasure, deep in the Dark Forest." As soon as he had said that, his eyes started to glint. "So, what do you think? Or is little Aqua too scared?"_**


	4. First Adventure

**A/N: Surprised to see another update that soon? Trust me, so am I. XD This was originally from my story "100 Fish in the Sea," chapter **35: Adventure, and chapter 71: Animals. I decided to extend on it. I still have trouble with portraying children, so my apologies for that. Terra's still eleven years old and Aqua's ten.****

****Thank ******you: TopazDragon98, Amulet Misty, Gohan Roxas, and outofthesun, my brilliant beta. :)**

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><p><em>~ "I wanna go on an adventure and find the secret treasure that's hidden deep in the Dark Forest." As soon as he had said that, his eyes started to glint. "So, what do you think? Or is little Aqua too scared?" ~<em>

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><p>It was another normal, sunny day in the warm, utopianLand of Departure, which meant that the two pupils could be found outside, sitting near the huge lake. Both children had taken off their shoes, so they could put their feet into the cool water. It had a rather pleasant effect on them, making it feel as though it wasn't that warm anymore.<p>

However, this time they were unable to decide what to do with the free time they had on their hands. Master Eraqus had been kind enough to stop their training earlier than usual, so now they could do fun things for the rest of the day... That is, as soon as they figured out what to do. At the moment, though, they didn't seem to agree that easily.

"I don't really like playing Hide and Seek," Aqua admitted softly, not daring to look her new friend in the eyes (because what if he would laugh at her? Sure, he had never done it before, but that didn't mean he never would).

"What did _you_ have in mind, then?" Terra questioned, resisting the urge to let out a deep sigh.

Honestly, Aqua was so shy and quiet. Sometimes, she gave him the feeling that he might scare her if he acted like his usual self. Well, at least there was more than enough time to let her open up more to him. Though that was easier said than done.

The blue-haired girl bit her lower lip. "Well, we could watch the clouds, or race each other, or play tag, or maybe even-"

"No, that's boring!" Terra objected harshly, interrupting the bluenette girl in mid-sentence.

Aqua frowned lightly, wondering why in the worlds he was always so incredibly bossy and mean to her. What had she ever done wrong? Or was it a typical guy thing she would never understand?

"Okay, then what else do you want to do?" Aqua asked, cautiously.

She didn't know Terra that well yet, but if there was one thing she had learned since her stay here, it was the fact that you should be _very_ careful around him.

"I wanna go on an adventure and find the secret treasure that's hidden deep in the Dark Forest." As soon as he had said that, his eyes started to glint. "So, what do you think? Or is little Aqua too scared?"

"N-no…" she replied, her voice quavering.

Except that she totally was. She had never set foot in that particular area of this world before, but her intuition was telling her that it was a dangerous place that she should avoid at all costs. There just was some kind of dark aura that came off the place.

Terra smirked, seeming oblivious. "Good. Then let the adventure begin…"

He rubbed his hands together, quietly thinking of which way they should go.

"Wait, how do you know there _is_ a treasure in the first place?" Aqua questioned, hoping that this would make him change his mind.

The dark-haired boy ran a hand through his chocolate-brown hair. "I just know, okay? Every forest has its secrets and treasures, so I figured that this one does, too. Well, if your questioning round is over, I really wanna start with our quest. Ready?"

The younger pupil nodded and gulped, knowing that she wasn't going to like this. Then again, it wasn't like she had any choice. If she refused now, Terra might never want to spend his time with her again and he was the only person who was around her age. She could only imagine how extremely bored out of her mind she would get after a while.

May the gods help them...

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><p>The forest seemed so... full of life. It was a beautiful sight, really. Birds were chirping everywhere from between the thick tree branches and no matter where Aqua looked, she would spot all kinds of flowers and beautiful butterflies fluttering around the plants. Unfortunately for her, this scenery changed, because, the closer they got to the heart of the woods, the darker it became, to the point that Aqua almost wanted to hold Terra's arm, just to be sure she wouldn't lose him or get lost herself. This quiet part of the woods was really creepy. No, creepy was an understatement. The girl's home world was always so full of light and happy people that this area frightened her.<p>

It was as though they had entered a different world; the trees here had more ominous faces and scary animals could jump them from every hidden, dark corner.

Aqua gasped softly, but audibly when she heard the sound of some unknown creature not too far away from them. It sounded like something big enough to be able to swallow her in one bite. Brr...

"T-Terra, I really don't like it here. Can we... go b-back again? Please?" Aqua whispered. She was far too scared to raise her voice, because then that beast would be able to hear her, too.

"Not yet; we haven't even started yet. You wanted to see this, right? Then what's the problem?" Terra asked, giving her a sidelong glance.

He wasn't sure why, but the boy had started whispering as well, looking around him as if he thought that someone was listening to every word they uttered.

"Well…there are animals here. Big animals. Scary animals," she replied, shivering at the mere thought of meeting grizzly bears or hungry wolves in this part of the forest.

They would obviously stand no chance if something like that happened to them.

The brunet sighed lightly. "Aqua, nothing will happen, I promise. I'm here with you, right? I'll protect you from anything that will cross our path, so you have nothing to worry about, okay?"

To prove his words, he took her hand in his and squeezed it slightly, giving her a small, but warm (and very rare) smile that she returned with a shaky one of her own. "A-alright. I trust you."

"Good. Now let's go. We have a long way to go if we really want to find something awesome."

Aqua nodded.

With that, the duo continued their trip and the bluenette felt more at ease now. She didn't know if it was because of Terra's gentle words, or because he refused to let go of her hand, but either way, it worked. In fact, she was kinda starting to enjoy this... if only a little. Aqua knew that as long as she was with Terra, things would somehow be all right again.

_**To be continued...**_

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><p><strong>AN: Gosh, Terra's such a meanie here, but at least he made it up in the end, right? (And he most certainly will in the next chapter.) :)**

**Next chapter:_ "Uh-oh. That doesn't look good."_**


	5. First Time Defending You

**A/N: My apologies for the lack of update, again (I keep saying that, don't I?). This is a continuation of the previous chapter (their "Big Adventure" in the "Dark Forest").** Terra's still eleven years old and Aqua's ten. By the way, the cover for this story is drawn by the lovely ~luckcharm on deviantArt (aka The Writing Artist). It was actually drawn for another Terqua drabble of mine, but I thought it was so pretty that I used it for this collection as well. Please don't use it without her permission. :)****

****Thank ******you: TopazDragon98, Gohan Roxas, Amulet Misty, Reaper of the Rebels, Starry Requiem, fate hates me, roobaby2011, Walker of Nothing, DragonBlueRose, InomaCallain, ScarRhyn, and M. L. Ayala, my lovely beta reader.  
><strong>

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><p><em>~ <em>"Uh-oh. That doesn't look good."<em> That sentence pretty much summed up the whole situation. ~_

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><p>The forest was eerily quiet...and it only got more silent as they got deeper in the woods. At one point, Aqua even caught herself holding her breath, simply because it made too much noise. It could just be her imagination, but even Terra seemed to be tiptoeing now. Unconsciously, she tightened her hold on Terra's hand, but the brunet boy didn't seem to mind, nor notice it.<p>

The blue-haired girl really started to regret agreeing to this whole adventure trip. It was ridiculous. What had they gained from this? Exactly; nothing. So next time Terra taunted her and called her a scared little girl, she would just turn around and walk away from him, her head held high. That is, if she was lucky enough to experience it a second time, because the way things were looking now...

May the gods be with them.

A little while later, though, the trees became less thick (and scary), allowing a small ray of sunlight to creep through the dark leaves, much to the bluenette's delight. It seemed that they were close to the other side and by the looks of it, it was a nice, sunny place. Thank heavens!

* * *

><p>"Whoa, I wonder where we are," Terra said as he squinted one eye shut against the bright sunlight that had a blinding effect on both pupils.<p>

They were more than glad to discover that on the other side of the forest there was a meadow. There had to be a village nearby, because they could spot a few houses not too far away from the meadow. Aqua had already spotted two boys around their age and decided to ask them where they were. Little did she know that she was going to regret it very soon...

"Hey, can I ask you something?" she started politely, to which both boys swiveled around.

For an brief moment, they both blinked as they inspected her, obviously dumbfounded. Then, the tallest of the two said, "Whoa, she's got _blue_ hair!"

"What a freak!" the second one chimed in.

"Hah, 'freak' is the understatement of the year!"

Aqua bit her bottom lip and her face fell, while she blinked furiously. The words stung, _a lot_, but she tried not to show her sadness. She simply refused to cry in front of these two. She wouldn't give those jerks that satisfaction.

"Hey, maybe she's a witch, or somethin'," the tallest one started again, to which the other stranger laughed.

Before he could add something else to it, Terra had stepped forward and punched him right on the jaw. The stranger let out a pained yelp, staggering backwards. If it hadn't been for the younger boy holding him, he would've fallen on the ground, _hard_. He cursed, before recovering from the blow.

"Who are you calling a witch, you stupid cow!? You kiss your mom with that mouth?" Terra sneered.

"Isn't that cute? The little boyfriend wants to play the prince and protect the scary witch," the bully spat, and he seemed to prepare himself for a fight, clenching his hands into fists. "Not that I won't be able to hand his ass over to him."

Terra had gotten into a battle stance as well, with a defiant look on his young features. For a brief moment, it became quiet all around them and neither of them moved. It was as though the animals had stopped breathing to see what would happen next. Then, as if on cue, the two boys charged each other.

The bully was fast, but Terra was strong enough to slow him down. Aqua had never realized before how strong (and scary) Terra really was, even if she trained with him every day. But Terra had never gone out on her like this. Sure, he could be a tad bit snotty, but he usually was extremely gentle and patient with her, which showed how much he tried to make her feel at ease.

Aqua let out a cry when the stranger was able to deliver a blow. Still, this didn't stop Terra. If anything, it only made him more aggressive. Soon enough, the two boys fled, realizing that they were no match for the brunet boy. Terra had done a pretty neat job at beating them up, but not without a prize. Aqua rushed over to his side and turned his face slightly to the side.

"Your lip's bleeding," was the first thing the bluenette uttered in a small voice.

"It's nothing," Terra said quickly, even though it was obvious that it was hurting.

Aqua refrained from shaking her head. Instead she took his hand and gently led him back to the forest.

"What are you doing?" he asked, shooting her a confused look, but she stayed silent.

Just when he thought that Aqua wouldn't reply, she stopped walking. It was only then that the eldest pupil noticed that they were near a brook. In a quick movement, Aqua tore a piece of her sleeve and let it soak in the water. All Terra did was watching her with mild fascination. Next, she carefully put the piece of cloth on his lip and slowly washed away the blood. At this point, Terra was too stunned to say anything, let alone to stop her.

Eventually, when she was done, she uttered, "Let's go, before it gets dark."

Terra nodded and followed her.

"Terra?"

"Yeah?"

"...Thanks for...you know."

Despite his current condition, Terra managed a smile. "Don't mention it. They deserved that."

* * *

><p>"Whew, I hate to admit this, but I'm glad we're back again. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to go through the woods," Terra admitted sheepishly.<p>

"Uhm, don't be too happy about it. I think that the biggest trouble is still awaiting us," Aqua noted darkly when she spotted Master Eraqus, who was standing not too far away from the castle.

He seemed to have been waiting for them for quite some time now. By the looks of it, he was quite angry, too; his body language said enough already.

Curiously, Terra followed her line of vision to see what she meant and he couldn't help but wince. "Uh-oh. That doesn't look good."

That sentence pretty much summed up the whole situation. They gulped.

"Let's go...before he decides to come and get us instead," Terra muttered.

When they had finally arrived near the stairs, the man started, "It's about time that the two of you showed up."

Unfortunately for them, Aqua's suspicions had been right; Master Eraqus was far from pleased. In fact, she'd never seen him this angry before. He acted as though they had committed a grave crime. His attention was mostly focussed on Terra, because according to Master Eraqus, Terra should have known better, seeing as he was the eldest and had been here long enough to know about the dangers of the forest. Well, he had been the one who had insisted, Aqua mused. But Master Eraqus couldn't know about that, could he?

"But it's all my fault!"

Aqua's eyes widened at her exclamation. It was out before it could stop herself.

Both Master Eraqus and Terra were giving her a surprised look now, although the latter quickly hid it when he noticed that the Master was glancing at him.

"Explain," was all the dark-haired man said as he crossed his arms.

"Well…" Aqua started, uneasily. "I...kinda convinced Terra to pick some berries for me near the forest, while I would cover him. But it took so long, so when you weren't looking, I uh... I snuck out to see if he needed some help... I'm sorry."

"Hmm..." Master Eraqus seemed to think about this.

For a moment, Aqua thought he might see right through her lie, because he was staring at her in a way that made her think he didn't believe her. It was unnerving to say the least.

But then he spoke, "I never expected this from you, Aqua. I'm very disappointed in you." Aqua blushed in shame and she opted to stare at her feet. "That's a week long punishment, for the both of you. You can clean up all the windows of the castle, starting tomorrow morning."

"What? All of them!?" Terra cried, disbelieving, which earned him a _look_ from the Master. He bowed his head when he realized his slip up. "Uh, I mean, yes, Master."

Master Eraqus nodded. "Good. Then that's settled. Dinner will be ready in ten minutes. Do wash your hands."

With that, he turned around and headed for the castle doors. As soon as he was out of earshot, Terra gave Aqua a pat on the shoulder. "Thanks for lying for me, even if it didn't help much. Man, I think that the windows of the first floor alone are gonna take us the whole weekend...at the least."

Suddenly, he dropped a pouch in her hand. "What's this?" she asked in surprise.

"Your berries. I picked a few of them when you went to...the toilet."

"Oh. Thanks…"

Aqua looked at the small, dark brown pouch. Then, without a warning, he started ruffling her hair, messing it up more than ever.

"Hey!" she protested, swatting away his hand.

Terra laughed at the expression on her face. "Heh, couldn't resist."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: ****Next chapter:_ Aqua blinked. This was the first time he had become so mad at her._**


	6. First Confessions

**A/N: **Terra's twelve years old here, and Aqua's eleven. This was **originally a part of 100 Fish in the Sea: ch 77. I Don't know How. I just decided to expand on it a little more. Please not that this chapter isn't betaed, so if you see any glaring mistakes, please don't hesitate to tell me. :)******

****Thank ******you: TopazDragon98, cutekitty5597, Amulet Misty, and AuthoressSai.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>~ Aqua blinked. This was the first time he had become so mad at her. ~<em>

* * *

><p><em>Ugh<em>, Terra could be _so_ stubborn sometimes it wasn't funny anymore! Even now, he was as red as a tomato from the heat wave, but for some reason, he flat-out refused to get into the water. Seriously, what was _wrong_ with him? Sure, she was used to his rather weird mood, but this was strange, even for him. Whoever had said that girls were weird, obviously hadn't met the curious case that was called Terra.

Aqua sighed wearily, before wading back to the shore. "You know you wanna try it."

"Nah, I'm fine," he lied quickly, but he couldn't fool her; she knew him long enough not to fall for it.

Aqua frowned, her lips forming a thin line. It was the first sign that she'd had enough.

"Ugh, Terra, why are you being so-"

"Because I can't, okay?" Terra eventually yelled, furiously.

Aqua blinked, not sure what she should say, or what she had done to make him this angry. This was the first time he had become so mad at her...and she had no idea what he meant.

"Why not?" she asked, softly.

Terra looked away in embarrassment, making his blue-haired friend all the more curious. "I…don't know how…to swim."

If Aqua was surprised at this fact, she knew how to hide it. "Why didn't you tell me? I can teach you."

"…Really?" Terra asked, sounding a little hopeful now.

Aqua gave him a sweet smile. "Sure, it's easy and pretty fun, too. C'mon, I'll show you."

Terra smiled. "…Thanks, Aqua."

"You're welcome. That's what friends are for, right?"

With that, Terra took off his boots and other clothes that would bother him in the water. He folded them all neatly and put them in a stack. After that, he entered the lake with slow, hesitant steps. Aqua took his hand and led him away from the shore, only stopping when the water came to their hips.

"You don't have to be afraid. Just do what I do and the water will take care of the rest, okay?"

Terra nodded briefly as he tried not to show how nervous he really was.

"You can trust me," Aqua continued.

She was extremely careful and patient with him, for he seemed to be a little scared of the water. Apparently, even the Master didn't know he couldn't swim. It was a small miracle that the brunet never had to swim during his training with the man. Still, it was only a matter of time before that would happen.

"You're probably thinking how stupid I am," he said softly.

Aqua shook her head. "No, not at all."

"Thing is...it's not even my fault." The boy took a deep breath, before he continued with, "When I was five, I was pushed into a river, all because I defended an innocent girl that some bullies were picking on and making fun of by pulling her braids. I almost drowned, had it not been for someone hearing my screams. Those bullies ran away, of course..."

Aqua's heart broke a little at this, especially because she still remembered how Terra had stood up for her too, when those bullies were making fun of her.

"So uh, did you _like_-like that girl?" she suddenly blurted out.

Terra blinked, slightly taken aback by this question. "No, I only liked her, because she was good at drawing, and she would always draw me anything I wanted."

"…Okay."

"Why did you ask?"

"Oh, no reason," the blue-haired girl quickly said, forcing down a blush that threatened to creep up on her cheeks.

"Oh…"

* * *

><p>After maybe an hour, when Terra had learned to float on the water by holding onto a rubber tire, they decided to take a little break.<p>

"See, I told you it would be easy," she said with a bright smile.

"Yeah." Terra grinned in a way that told her he could barely believe it himself. That was when he noticed something rather peculiar. "Hey, there's a spider in your hair."

He'd barely said that when his blue-haired friend tensed up and became as pale as a blanket. This didn't go unnoticed by Terra.

"Take it off me!" she squeaked, not daring to move, just in case something horrible would happen.

Terra wasted no time with doing as he was told. "What's wrong, Aqua? Are you okay?" he questioned with a worried gaze.

She was shaking and looked as though she was about to faint, so he had all reason to ask this.

"I-I don't like spiders," she admitted with a slight quaver in her voice, while trying to suppress the shivers that ran down her spine.

"Why not?"

It took her a while to reply, either because of the shock or because she was hesitating about how much she could tell him before he'd laugh at her.

Almost as though he could read her mind, he whispered, "You know you can tell me anything, right? I won't laugh at you, I promise... After all, you didn't laugh at me either when I told you my secret."

That did it for Aqua. "...'Cause they're scary."

She bowed her head and opted to look at her knees now. Anything was better than look him in the eyes and read there that he thought she was being a big crybaby.

For a moment, a silent beat passed between the two pupils, but then Terra started, "There's no reason to be scared of these little creatures. They don't harm people. And they're probably more scared of you than you are of them. It's really unfair to judge them solely on their looks, don't you think?"

She looked at him, her cerulean eyes big.

"And if spiders didn't exist, the whole world would've been full of dirty, annoying insects and billions of bugs that would never leave you alone to do your business. Is that what you want?"

Aqua slowly shook her head. To be honest, she'd never really thought about that side of the story and she hated to admit it, but Terra was right. One little spider wasn't too bad, even if she was scared of them. A bunch of insects, however, became a problem.

"Here, I'll show you that they're actually pretty cool animals."

Before the bluenette could protest, Terra grabbed her hand and let the spider walk on it. At first, Aqua was absolutely terrified, to the point that once again, all color drained from her face. She wanted to pull her hand away, but his grasp on her arm was too strong for her. Terra had always been much stronger than she was, both physically as well as mentally. However, when Terra assured her that he would be here if things went wrong, she calmed down slightly and just let him be.

After a while, she admitted with a nervous giggle, "That tickles!"

"The advantage of having hairy legs; you can tickle other with it," he said jokingly, to which she laughed.

Eventually, she realized that thanks to Terra, her arachnophobia was gone, along with Terra's inability to swim. Sure, she didn't pick up those hairy creatures, but she didn't run away from them now, either. And all of that thanks to Terra.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, well, looks like **Aqua did a really good job there. You can especially see that in Neverland. XD****

**Next chapter: _Now just try to take that shirt of yours off, Terra. You get all my money if you succeed by yourself, _she thought, smirking.**


	7. First Time We Pranked Master Eraqus

**A/N: First Time We Pranked Master Eraqus, as requested by Amulet Misty. **Terra's thirteen years old here, and Aqua's twelve. Again, this chapter isn't betaed, so if you catch any errors, don't hesitate to let me know.****

****Thank ******you: TopazDragon98, Amulet Misty, and Walker of Nothing.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>~ <em>Now just try to take that shirt of yours off, Terra. You get all my money if you succeed by yourself, <em>she thought, smirking. ~_

* * *

><p>"There he is! Quick, let's hide!" Terra whispered, when he heard approaching footsteps in the corridor.<p>

He quickly pulled Aqua with him towards the long, yellow curtains. The latter nearly lost her balance because of the force he used to pull her along with him.

"Oops, sorry," he whispered, unable to hide the grin that adorned his face.

The bluenette let out a nervous giggle. "It's okay. I'm starting to get used to it, anyway."

This earned her a playful push from the brunet boy.

Their hideout didn't have to be that special, because they wouldn't make use of it for longer than a few seconds. Here was hoping that their preparation hadn't been all for nothing. That would _really_ suck, especially because they had worked so hard to make sure they would succeed...

As soon as the two had ducked away, the door, which was slightly ajar, started to move. Before Master Eraqus had a chance to do anything, the bucket that they had managed to balance carefully on top of the door tumbled down and fell on top of his head. Confetti in all the colors of the rainbow rained down on his form, but all he did was just stand there, completely tense.

"Uh-oh, looks like he didn't like our prank," Terra muttered, worried now.

The man removed the now empty bucket from his head and ran a hand through his hair to get rid of the tiny pieces of colored paper. "Sometimes I wonder how I survived these past years with the two of you," he muttered under his breath.

Fortunately for them, Master Eraqus could laugh at their creativity (and at the fact that it was only confetti that rained down on him, not a bucket of water or any other slimy substance that would take hours to wash out of his hair).

"But you have to promise me to never pull a more dangerous prank than this one, okay?" he said to his pupils.

They both nodded and cried simultaneously, "I promise!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>-Five years later...<em>**

It took all of Aqua's willpower not to erupt into a mad fit of giggles, because Terra looked absolutely _ridiculous_. Oh boy, he was going to be furious when he found out what she'd done to him! So the last thing she wanted to happen now was the brunet teen to wake up.

She wasn't finished with him yet, though. Now that she'd managed to glue Terra's hand against his cheek without him waking up, it was his other hand's turn. Quickly and agily, Aqua took his other hand that was resting on his stomach, and put some of the fast-drying glue that she'd found in her room on it, knowing very well that it wouldn't be too long before he opened his eyes. She had to hurry if she didn't want him to see her here and ask what the hell she was doing in his room when he hadn't asked her to come in...for the second time this week. Therefore, she just put his hand against his other cheek this time. That saved some time.

Of course, it would have been even more hilarious if he'd woken up and discovered that his pillow was glued to his other hand. But she could always save that for a next time.

The pretty bluenette stepped back to admire her new masterpiece. _Now just try to take that shirt of yours off, Terra. You get all my money if you succeed by yourself, _she thought, smirking.

With that, she turned around and tiptoed out of his bedroom, smiling at the thought that a big, nasty surprise would await Terra when he woke up. It served him more than right, though.

And now, it was time for a great breakfast.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: The second part of this chapter was a nod to '_Prankwar_', my most popular Terqua story on this site. It's a snippet of the fifth chapter: Glue 'em Together! For those of you who might have read it: yes, the results of this prank was exactly why Master Eraqus had warned them to be careful...**

**Next chapter: _"Terra misfired a fire spell. That's what happened."_**


	8. First Time I Hurt You

**A/N: Having another mini break from studying to post this. :) I am _so_ going to finish this collection before summer vacations ends...hopefully. XD Anyways, **Terra's still thirteen years old here, and Aqua's twelve. Again, this chapter isn't betaed, so if you catch any errors, don't hesitate to let me know. Also, I own Lumina.****

****Thank ******you: 7th Scale, TopazDragon98, Amulet Misty, Walker of Nothing, xXUltimateDestructionXx, Ringings, Cafe. nina, and IscreamIcecream. :)  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>~ "Terra misfired a fire spell. That's what happened." ~<em>

* * *

><p>"Uh-oh. I did<em> not<em> see _that_ one coming."

He sheepishly scratched the back of his head as they both stared at the damage that he had caused. At least one thing would never change; the fact that he hopelessly sucked at magic.

"Uh-oh indeed... I think you have a _big_ problem, Terra."

"Hey, like it's my fault! How could I know that that was going to happen, huh!?" The brunet boy cried out indignantly. He paused, before asking hesitantly, "Aqua... Do you think he's gonna be mad?"

"That depends entirely on your explanation, young man. Can somebody tell me why the tree is on fire? What happened?"

The two pupils's eyes widened when they heard the familiar voice behind them. They spun around and saw that Master Eraqus had decided to check up on them...unfortunately. Leave it to their sensei to show up at the most unwelcome times. Could he smell stupidity or something?

The man crossed his arms and stared down at the two with a slight raise of his dark brows. "Well?"

"Terra misfired a fire spell. That's what happened," was the simple reply.

Terra couldn't help but smirk despite the situation. "Nice pun."

The man mentally facepalmed, not really seeing the humor in it. "That was a century old cherry tree, Terra."

The brun looked down, as though he'd realized only now what he had done. "Oh... I'm sorry, Master."

Master Eraqus shook his head and snapped his fingers. The flames disappeared, but the damage on the tree was beyond repair. Sometimes he _really _wondered why he was still doing this. The children sure knew how to test his patience.

_You leave them alone for only two minutes and this is what happens..._

Thank heavens there were only two of them, because he didn't think he'd be able to handle a third pupil. Especially when they were even more energetic than these two. Here was hoping that both children would become quiet adults...soon. Even he and Xehanort hadn't been this bad, and that meant a lot coming from him. He was starting to feel bad for her own master, Master Lumina.

_Maybe I'm getting too old for this..._

"Very well then. Let's ignore that for now, but promise me you'll be more careful next time, young man."

Terra nodded. "I promise, Master Eraqus."

Looking at the youngest pupil, Eraqus continued, "Aqua, I believe it's your turn now. Please show me how much your physical strength has improved from last week."

Aqua gulped. "Yes, Master."

The bluenette took a deep, shuddering breath as she readied herself. _I can do this_, she thought._ Like Terra said, it's a piece of cake._

With that in mind, she took a run-up and jumped high in the air. Her foot shot out, just like she had been practising. However, instead of kicking away Terra's keyblade, she kicked the brunet's chin...hard. The impact of the blow made the boy stagger backwards and almost fall back on the hard ground. With much trouble, he managed to stay upright.

Aqua gasped, her eyes widening in pure horror the instant she saw the blood that dripped down from his lips to his chin. It had never been her intention to do that!

"Oh my _gosh_, Terra, I'm _so_ sorry!"

"It's okay. I'm fine. It's nothing."

"You call that nothing?" she shrieked, nearly in tears now at the pain that she caused her best friend.

Not letting him say anything else, she rushed over to him to heal the wound she had caused. Before Terra could ask what she was doing, she'd cased cura on him.

"Thanks," he muttered when the pain had subsided, rubbing his now completely healed chin.

_This girl is gonna be the death of me one day... Good thing she'll know enough magic by then to raise the dead._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Lol, the idea of Terra sucking at magic never gets old. XD Now that you've read a few unbetaed chapters, it would really mean a lot to me if you could tell me whether you prefer to read chapters that have been beta read already, or that it doesn't really matter, because there aren't that many errors in it to begin with.**

**Next chapter: _"Was this your sick idea of a revenge?"_**


	9. First Big Mistakes

**A/N: **Terra's fourteen years old, and Aqua's thirteen. Sorry for the slightly boring chapter. The next one will be better, I promise (as if that's hard lol).****

****Thank ******you: Amulet Misty, AuthoressSai, Child Of The West Wind, roobaby2011, and ChaosHearts13. :)  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>~ "Was this your sick idea of a revenge?" ~<em>

* * *

><p>Birds were chirping, bees were humming and the Land of Departure had never looked this lively before. Or perhaps that was because according to Terra, today everyone should be happy, seeing as it was the first day of their summer vacation. He had been looking forward to this day for so long now, especially because Master Eraqus had promised to take them on a nice picnic. And he had, of course, because the Master was a man who kept his word.<p>

Of course, he hadn't expected for it to be so...quiet during their little time out. Then again, it was partly his own fault; if he hadn't been stupid and _blind_ enough to begin with, he wouldn't have walked into that table and break something of Aqua's. Her favorite statue to be precise. He had apolized right after of course, a thousand times even. Heck, he had even offered to glue the broken pieces together... But something still didn't feel quite right between them.

Suddenly, however, Terra made a weird noise and started scratching himself everywhere furiously. He even had to get up to do it more properly. It was as though he was possessed by some evil spirit; it was a rather scary sight. Aqua had honestly no idea what was happening, but Master Eraqus's eyes shot from the troubled Terra to the piece of cake that he had almost completely finished.

"Aqua, did you put wallnuts in the cake?" the man questioned solemnly.

The brunet boy's whole skin had turned red and irritable from the rashes. Some places had even swollen, looking extraordinarily painful. Aqua winced, watching him scratch himself like that. This was all her fault. If she had known about his allergy, this never would have happened in the first place. Why had she never asked him if he was allergic to something? Why, why, _why_?!

"Was this your sick idea of a revenge?"

His voice was soft, but it still managed to make Aqua blush a crimson red. "Wha- of course not! I'm sorry, I didn't know-"

Terra quickly interrupted her. "Relax. I was only kidding."

She blinked for a moment, before hitting him with her napkin when she caught the faint upturn of his lips. "Meanie."

"You know you like it," he replied with a cheeky grin.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: ****Next chapter: _She was looking at him as though she wanted to hold him and never let go..._**


	10. First Scars

**A/N: At last; I was starting to think that this would only be a drabble collection. :P Anyways, **Terra's 15 years old, and Aqua's 14. Enjoy. :)****

****Thank ******you: Amulet Misty, HawkRider, and Mystics Apprentice, my lovely beta reader. :)  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>~ <em>She was looking at him as though she wanted to hold him and never let go...<em> ~_

* * *

><p>Today was one of those <em>deliciously<em> lazy afternoons that both pupils loved. At the moment they were sitting near the lake, with their feet in the bright and cool water. Their training schedule—or rather Master Eraqus—had cut them some slack today, but they even spent their free time together. The water did wonders for their aching muscles.

"You know, sometimes I wonder how Master Eraqus got those scars. It looks like it really hurt..." Aqua mused.

"Yeah, but it makes him look awesome, too. I think people with scars are cool."

"Really?"

Terra nodded. "Mhm. I mean, look at all those video games and movies. The coolest characters have scars."

Aqua let these words sink in, before she started, "Am I cool, too? Because I have a scar, on my leg."

Terra's dark brows practically disappeared into his hairline upon hearing this. Quite honestly, Aqua was the last person he would expect to have a scar. She had probably fallen off a glide, or something.

"Seriously?"

"Yes..."

"Can I see it?" He tried not to sound too eager, but he couldn't help it. He wondered if it was a gross one or if it looked almost perfect, like the rest of her porcelain-like skin. "I mean...if you'd like to show me, that is. You don't have to if you don't want—"

The bluenette was quick to interrupt him. "Sure. It's here."

Aqua turned around slightly and lifted her left foot out of the water, so that the fifteen-year-old brunet could see the thin scar on her leg that was usually invisible because of the boots she wore. It was a fairly deep one, that was easy to discern. He wondered why he had never noticed it before. Then again, you don't usually look at people's feet when you hang out with them...even if hers were kinda pretty.

Terra nodded quietly. "Impressive. So how did you get it?"

She put her foot back in the water again, seeing how her reflection in the lake became all blurry. "I once helped someone get out of a building that was on fire. We were the only ones inside. We had to jump out of the window, though, because there was no other way out. The fire had blocked the front door. The people outside would catch us on a big sail that they had spread out under us," the bluenette explained patiently. Her brows were furrowed in concentration as she tried to recall the event.

Terra noted that she had goosebumps all over her arms, even in this heat. That could only indicate how much harm that moment had done to her.

"But isn't that dangerous? If the sail hadn't been strong enough..."

"Yes it was_ extremely_ dangerous, but what other choice did we have? It was either taking that risk or dying in the flames. But I was only nine at the time, so I wasn't really heavy or anything. It was scary, because we were on the second floor. The girl started panicking when she looked down. She was three years younger than me, so I can't blame her. I mean... I was really scared too, but I pushed her out of the window, because she wouldn't go by herself... I think she was scared of heights. On our way down, I accidentally got a sharp nail in my leg and that left its mark. Sometimes, when I train too hard or something, it kinda starts hurting there, though."

"I see..." Terra's cobalt-blue eyes were as big as saucers by now. He was seeing Aqua in a whole new light, now that he'd heard about this extremely spectacular story. It was silent for a good moment, but then Terra finally admitted, "I've got one, too, actually. On my back."

As expected (and hoped, but he'd rather die than admit that in front of anyone), this caught her interest and she wanted to know more about it. "Oh? Can I...?"

"Yeah, sure."

Wordlessly, he took off his dark grey shirt and turned his back to her, showing off the three thin scars that ran parallel and diagonally down from his right shoulder blade all the way to his lower back. It looked like a bear had ran its claws down his back and, from the looks of it, it had hurt like_ hell_.

Aqua's eyes widened in pure shock. "What happened?"

"I'm not too sure, but I think it was one of those Unversed that had appeared out of nowhere. It attacked me right before Master Eraqus saved me. If he hadn't found me that night, I wouldn't even be here to tell you this"—Terra took a deep, shuddering breath—"that night, when my world fell, there was only chaos around us. Nobody knew what was happening or how to stop it."

Yelling people, utter panic bubbling up in his throat, burning houses and corpses, blood and gore... It had felt like he'd been stuck in a nightmare that he would never wake up from. He'd been so _alone_ at that time. No one had wanted to help him.

"My mother had died the day before, so I was on my own that night. Nobody would even look at me and mom's death hadn't changed anything..." he muttered bitterly, to nobody in particular.

Then he realized what he'd just said and looked up, staring straight into Aqua's cerulean eyes.

"What?" he said awkwardly, when he caught that strange look she was giving him.

She was looking at him as though she wanted to hold him and never let go...

Feeling a little awkward, he continued, "So that was that. I have no idea who my dad is, 'cause he had left my mother before I was born. After that, my mother left the place where they had met for good. But I do know that they used to live in a very sunny place. Some group of tropical islands, I believe."

After that, it became silent between them, both thinking about the stories that they had just shared. Terra didn't know why, but he felt so much better now that he'd told someone about his past. Aqua was a good listener, so that helped a lot, too. And, quite frankly, he hadn't felt alone at all ever since he'd been lucky enough to meet her.

She made everything so much better.

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><p><strong>AN: ****Next chapter: _It wasn't like he did it on purpose. It just…happened. He had to look like some creepy stalker._  
><strong>


	11. First Awkward Moment

**A/N: First Awkward Moment, as requested by HawkRider. The shortest chapter in this collection. **Terra's 16 years old, and Aqua's 15. Enjoy. :)****

****Thank ******you: krikanalo, Amulet Misty, HeartofFyrwinde, Coolgal342, and roobaby2011. :)  
><strong>

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><p><em>~ He had to look like some creepy stalker. ~<em>

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><p>Terra gulped, quickly averting his gaze when deep cobalt blue eyes met cerulean ones. He felt his cheeks grow warmer and the atmosphere around them get more tense and beyond awkward (seriously, on a scale of one to ten, it would probably get a twelve. Yes,<em> that<em> bad). And his stomach, oh, the way his stomach knotted painfully was anything but pleasant to him, but what could he do about it, really?

Yes, she'd caught him staring at her again, and now they were both blushing like madmen. But it wasn't like he did it on purpose. It just…happened. Sometimes he wasn't even aware of himself doing it. And something told him that Aqua wouldn't believe any of that. He couldn't blame her, though. He had to look like some creepy stalker, staring at her 24/7. (Why oh why did she always have to look up just when he was looking at her? She had a weird timing, that much was clear.)

At this point, it had slowly turned into a little game; stare at her for as long as you could without making eye contact with her. It was scary and tricky and exciting, all at the same time.

Well, it was also partly her own fault; one shouldn't be so pretty to begin with. The way she moved around, graceful like a ballerina, calm like a deep lake... How could anyone _not_ focus on that? He just couldn't _not_ look at her, couldn't ignore her to save his life. And to be honest, he didn't want to, either.

But she would never find out about that last part.

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><p><strong>AN: ****Next chapter: "_What in the worlds do you think you're doing, cheating like that?"_  
><strong>


	12. First Game of Scrabble

**A/N: First game of Scrabble, as requested by HawkRider. **Terra's 16 years old, and Aqua's 15. Again, sorry for the shortness. Hopefully, it still has enough quality. Enjoy. :)****

****Thank ******you: Coolgal342, and HawkRider. :)  
><strong>

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><p><em>~ "Hey, w<em>hat in the worlds do you think you're doing, cheating like that?"<em> ~_

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><p>Today was one of those relaxed days in which Aqua had proposed to play Scrabble with Terra. Usually, their Master would join them. Today, however, he had claimed to be busy with something. So that only left the two pupils alone in the library.<p>

Aqua was a natural when it came to playing Scrabble, but Terra had been downright horrible at first. If it hadn't been for Aqua holding back a lot and practically pleading him to play with her, he never would have gotten better at it. On bad days, Aqua still had to hold back a little, but Terra had even managed to win from her once.

"Hey, what in the worlds do you think you're doing, cheating like that?" Aqua suddenly asked, when she read the word that Terra had spelled on the Scrabble board. "You think I wouldn't notice?"

"I'm not cheating!" Terra, in return, exclaimed indignantly.

"Are too! 'Awesomer' is not a word."

"Yes it is!"

Aqua shook her head. "No, it's not, Terra."

"Yes it is! You just can't take it that I happened to-"

"Go look it up in the dictionary if you don't believe me."

Terra paused, narrowing his cobalt blue eyes into thin slits, before grumbling and getting up to look up the word. To be honest, Aqua had thought that he had just been joking around at first (it wouldn't be the first time). See if she was actually paying attention or something like that. So needless to say, she was shocked that he was actually serious. How could anyone_ not_ know that 'awesomer' didn't exist?

"Well?" Aqua said after a while, when Terra didn't say anything, despite the fact that he had obviously read enough.

The brunet teen slowly closed the dictionary and muttered, "This is an old dictionary."

Aqua started to laugh at the expression on his face; he looked as though he had swallowed the purest lemon juice. "I'm sure it is, Terra. Where did you even read that word?"

"...Twilight."

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><p><strong>AN: Someone once told me that the writer did indeed write 'awesomer' somewhere in the Twilight series. I can't know for sure, because I read the first three books in Dutch.**

**Next chapter: "_Please don't be sad, Aqua." He hated seeing her like this._  
><strong>


	13. First Hug

**A/N: Omg, guys! Thanks so much for the reviews! *pulls them all into a big group hug* I wish I could thank the anon reviewers in person and tell them how awesome they are, but this is the closest I can get to that. :P It's funny how I got most of you to wonder/look up if "awesomer" is an actual word or not. I had the same reaction when I wrote the previous chapter; "What if it actually _is_ an existing word? Then I'll only make a derp out of myself...again." XD Strangely enough, the content of this chapter was requested by an anon reviewer...but I had wanted to write the same thing for this chapter anyway lol. **Terra's still 16 years old, and Aqua's 15. Enjoy. ;D****

****Thank ******you: Guest, Shadow, HawkRider, fakepuesdo, AuthoressSai, Coolgal342, Amulet Misty, Juliette Stark-Barton, and StarryEyedd. :)  
><strong>

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><p><em>~ "<em>Please don't be sad, Aqua." He truly hated seeing her like this<em>_._ ~_

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><p>Where was Aqua when you needed her? the brunet teen thought with a frown. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen his best friend all day. Well, save for lunch, but she had seemed all quiet and distant...<p>

Something was definitely not right then. Deciding to go look for her, Terra quickly made his way to her bedroom. When he knocked on the door, however, no response came, so he granted himself permission to enter not-so-unknown territory.

"Aqua?" he started carefully when he caught the pretty bluenette sitting near her window (she hadn't even looked up to acknowledge his presence, which was rather peculiar). "Why are you sitting here all by yourself? What's the matter?"

"I...miss home."

Her reply had been a faint whisper, but Terra had heard it nonetheless. Oh, he'd been there, countless times before. But that had all been before he had met Aqua. Terra didn't know why, but for some reason, Aqua made him forget about his pain, or how much he missed his mother's soothing touch. In some ways, she even reminded him of his late mother.

Aqua just made everything better by simply being by his side.

He shut the door behind him and walked over to her, slowly, as though she was a little bird that he didn't want to scare off. "Please don't be sad, Aqua." He truly hated seeing her like this. It made him feel so powerless, because in Terra's head, he was supposed to make her feel better, just the way she did with him. "I'm sorry to hear that, but you know, you can't really miss home...because home is where the heart is...literally. This world, with us, this is your new home now and I know that sometimes, things will be hard. But me and Master Eraqus, we'll be there for you when you need us."

"I guess you're right, Terra. Thanks."

She smiled sweetly at him, but the smile wasn't quite able to light up her eyes like it usually did when she was happy. Terra refrained from shaking his head. Did she honestly think she could fool him when he knew her so well?

On a complete whim, he shuffled closer to her and hugged her from behind. His first thought was to pull away immediately, thinking that he had made a complete fool out of himself. Seriously, what in the worlds was he thinking?

However, when he could practically feel how her smile slowly grew, despite her stiff posture, Terra knew that he'd done the right thing this time. She seemed to relax and after a while, actually hugged him back. And naturally, he couldn't help but feel elated at the fact that it was him who made her feel like this.

_Mission accomplished._

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><p><strong>AN: Guess what? :D I finally finished BBS! After three years... orz So now I can say to anyone who will listen that I wrote Terqua even before I had finished the game. XD Anyways, the next chapter should be up tomorrow.**

**Next chapter: _"Uhm... Do I even want to know what all of this is supposed to mean?"_**


	14. First Time Walking in on

**A/N: "First time they walked in on something they shouldn't have," as requested by HawkRider. The possibilities for this prompt were endless. **Terra's still 16 years old, and Aqua's 15. Enjoy. ;D****

****Thank ******you: 7th Scale, HeartofFyrwinde, and Amulet Misty. :)  
><strong>

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><p><em>~ <em>"Wow... Do I even want to know what all of this is supposed to mean?"<em> ~_

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><p>The castle in which Terra and Aqua lived was<em> huge<em>. In fact, it was so big that one could easily get lost if they weren't familiar with the way the hallways would sometimes cross - or not. There were many secret passages, while other doors, surprisingly enough, led to dead ends or white, concrete walls.

When Aqua had just arrived in the beautiful Land of Departure, she had even thought that the hallway and stairs could move on their own, just like in her favorite series. By now, the bluenette honestly had thought that she had seen every corner and every single room, but boy, had she been wrong about that!

Aqua threw her friend a sidelong glance and saw to her delight that he was just as baffled as she was, if not more, because he'd been living here much longer than her.

"Wow... Do I even want to know what all of this is supposed to mean?" Terra started, utterly perplexed.

"I suppose not... Terra, do you think the Master's..._bald_?"

Because he certainly didn't look like he was wearing a wig. His hair seemed healthy and natural. But you could never know for sure.

"Either that, or he just really likes wigs. Think of it as a guilty pleasure?" Terra mused as he gave the huge room a good look.

Wooden shelves were lined up against the walls, with hundreds upon hundreds of wigs, in any size or color (from hot pink to dirty blonde) imaginable, adorning the place. It was hard to believe that Master Eraqus actually collected hair in his spare time; he'd never mentioned it to any of them before. Then again, if you have such an embarrassing hobby, it's more than logical that you want to keep it a secret.

"Could these wigs belong to someone else entirely? Someone who lived here way before Master Eraqus was born?" Aqua wondered.

'Cause heaven forbid that to be some secret tradition for all Keyblade Masters...

"Or the Master just keeps those around in case Master Xehanort wants to borrow one," the brunet teen said.

This made them both snigger and Aqua briefly entertained herself with the idea of the bald man suddenly having long, curly poisonous green hair. Both pupils had only met the man once, but his utterly short visit had been enough to still give Aqua nightmares.

"So...we're just gonna pretend that we never saw all this, deal?" Terra suggested after a silence.

Aqua was quick to nod. "Deal."

With that, they left the room, closed the door behind them, and decided that they had discovered enough hidden rooms for today.

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><p><strong>AN: ****Next chapter: _"Do you think there's a life after this one?"_**


	15. First Discussion

**A/N: Important notice: I'm working on a visual novel, along with three other awesome writers, but we still need one other writer, artists and composers. Please take a look at my profile page for more details, because I'm sure you're nog gonna regret giving it a try; the people who already signed up are pretty awesome and personally, I'm so happy and excited that I'm part of all this. :D**

**Anyways, First Discussion of Beliefs, as requested by **HeartofFyrwinde**. Though I have to ask you guys to please send in requests_ through PM only_. I won't accept it through reviews, otherwise this story is breaking the site rules. And talking about faith and politics is always a risky business, so I hope I won't offend people, which is definitely not what I'm aiming for. Anyways, **Terra's 16 years old, and Aqua's 15. Enjoy. ;D****

****Thank ******you: Amulet Misty, 7th Scale, and HawkRider. :)  
><strong>

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><p><em>~ <em>"Hey... Do you think there's a life after this one?"<em> ~_

* * *

><p>"That's why there are so many conflicts in that area, and it all goes back to at least two thousand years... I think that should be all for today," Master Eraqus said after a moment of silence, when he realized that neither of his pupils were able to concentrate on the subject any longer. "We will look at the last three worlds tomorrow."<p>

"Phew," Terra said, as he slumped back in his seat.

His head was spinning from all that information about the worlds' different beliefs. It was funny how many people came up with different names for their gods and prophets, but in the end, at least half of them tied together and ended with the same thing. The similarities were striking to say the least, and yet, they all were too stubborn to admit it, as though it was a crime to share the same thoughts and beliefs.

When the Master had finally left the room to attend to his own business, Terra dared to ask his friend, "Hey... Do you think there's a life after this one?"

Aqua tilted her head slightly to the side, thinking about it for a moment. "Yes, and no. I think there are exceptions to that rule. If you decide to live the rest of your life as a ghost on the planet. But eventually, we may all go to heaven or hell, once it's time."

Terra blinked. "Well, I guess we have something in common then. But personally, I think that becoming a ghost is either a small punishment. Or they still need to finish something in their world before their spirit can join the Other Side."

She nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, that could be another reason for them to stay behind. What exactly does the Other Side say for you?"

"Well..." Terra started.

He had to admit that it was hard to answer that question, because no one had ever seen the Other Side. Not alive, at least. But the brunet teen did have his own theories on that.

"I think the Other Side, or Heaven, has more layers than just one. I mean, what Master Eraqus said about one of those religions on Earth does seem logical. There are different levels of being a good person and we people are so different sometimes that we can't compare everyone to one standard," he said, eventually.

Aqua nodded, before something else that was said today struck her. "But then there must be more layers of Hell too, right?"

"I guess. You can't compare rapists to, let's say... corrupted mayors."

"Fair enough... I didn't know you believed in Heaven and Hell," the bluenette noted.

"Well, there is more you don't know about me," Terra said teasingly, making her smile.

She was right though; it certainly was strange that two people from different worlds still shared the same beliefs. After a few more minutes of discussion, it was almost scary how much they seemed to agree.

"Do you believe in God?" Terra asked suddenly, and he already knew that she was going to say yes, because so did he...sort of.

"Yes, of course."

"Uhm... why 'of course'?"

Aqua smiled. "Because there's no way that something can suddenly start existing out of nothing. Even science has proven this. So there can't be a "Big Bang." A higher power must have been the cause of that."

And with that answer, she managed to take away that little bit of doubt Terra had about God's existence.

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><p><strong>AN: I know, not my most detailed chapter, but I hope you guys still enjoyed reading it.**

**Next chapter: _"I saw this the other day and it reminded me of you, so..." Terra said awkwardly._**


	16. First Big Gift

**A/N: ******Terra's 17 years old, and Aqua's 16. Enjoy. ;D****

****Thank ******you: 7th Scale. and Amulet Misty. :)  
><strong>

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><p><em>~ <em>"I saw this the other day and it reminded me of you, so..." Terra said awkwardly.<em> ~_

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><p>"Aqua?"<p>

The bluenette looked up. "What is it?"

"I saw this the other day and it reminded me of you, so…happy Child's Day, I guess," Terra said awkwardly, as he handed his younger friend the gift that he had packed all by himself (which was quite a feat, considering that his hands created no beauty).

And he had honestly no idea why he had said that part about Child's Day, because only parents were supposed to give their children presents on June the 1st. Still, Aqua didn't comment on it and he was glad for that.

As always, she was agonizingly slow with unwrapping the gift, but since Terra had grown used to it by now, it was no big deal. The bluenette had already guessed that it was a book that he'd gotten her. A thick one judging by its size and weight. However, the title and cover of it still made her gasp. "_Legends and Myths Through the Ages_." Terra knew how much she liked such tales, and how much she loved reading. To have them all combined in a book…it left her speechless.

She opened the book on a random page and saw a tree with yellow, star-shaped fruit in it. The top of the page read "Destiny Islands' Paopu Fruit." The story behind this mysterious fruit seemed interesting upon first glance too.

The next chapter was about Pandora's Box, followed by the Philosopher's Stone, and many other legends, new or familiar to her.

"Terra, this is – you shouldn't have…thank you," Aqua said eventually. "It's lovely, you're so sweet."

"Oh, it's nothing," he said quickly, glad to hear that she liked it.

As she continued leafing through the pages, she saw different Greek mythical creatures and different kind of herbs and gemstones.

A quiet beat passed between them, before Aqua admitted, "I upgraded your wooden Keyblade… I hope you like it. Here."

Even before her brunet friend could react on it, she had dropped the handmade Keyblade in his hands. Terra winced because of the weight he was expecting, but to his great surprise, the Keyblade seemed at least three times lighter in his hand! It was much easier to carry it around and practice some difficult moves without having to worry that he might accidentally set another tree on fire. For some reason, it looked prettier too, almost real compared to how it first had looked. That must all be her magic.

Terra mouth dropped open when he rolled it over in his hand to inspect the other side of it. Another thing Aqua had added was his name in pretty, curly letters.

Apparently, Aqua took his silence as a sign of disapproval, for the next thing she said was, "I'm sorry for not asking you about it first. I should have-"

"No, no! It's perfect," he said quickly, interrupting her. "I mean it. Thanks!"

She smiled sweetly at him, as a warm, happy rush of emotion made her feel as though she was flying. "I'm happy to hear that."

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><p><strong>AN: ****Next chapter: **_Oh, how different their childhood would have been if they had grown up in this beautiful world..._****


	17. First Trip to Another World

**A/N: Ai, short chapter is short, I'm afraid. First Holiday + First trip to another world, as requested by HawkRider I decided to add the two prompts together. Hope you don't mind that, HawkRider. :) ******Terra's 17 years old, and Aqua's 16. Enjoy. ;D****

****Thank ******you: 7th Scale. :)  
><strong>

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><p><em>~ <em>Oh, how different their childhood would have been if they had grown up in this beautiful world...<em> ~_

* * *

><p>Radiant Garden really was doing its name justice; it was radiant and majestic in every way, especially for Terra and Aqua, who had both only seen their home world and the Land of Departure so far. This was all new to them. The master didn't seem too impressed, which indicated that he'd visited this world a lot.<p>

This trip could also be seen as their first holiday together, even though it would merely last three days.

As the two pupils looked around, they came to the following conclusion: this world had to be the capital of all worlds, what with the strong impression that it gave. There was no way that this world would ever be able to fall to darkness, that much was obvious. Even the people seemed so much different here, happier. There were no mine workers in sight, or fishermen. Only rather charming merchants and ordinary townsfolk. Aqua's favorite place was the great fountains behind the huge gardens, but Terra like the castle the most. Oh, how different their childhood would have been if they had grown up in this beautiful world...

_"Whoa!"_

Aqua had to bite her lower lip to keep herself from laughing; Terra had been so much in awe with his surroundings (not that she could blame him) that he had nearly fallen over a cute, raven-haired toddler who had been picking red and white flowers.

"Hey, watch it, ya big palooka!" she cried indignantly.

"Sorry," the brunet quickly replied, before hurrying away.

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><p><strong>AN: ****Next chapter: _"You actually brought it with you?" Aqua asked disbelievingly.  
><em>**


	18. First Time Sharing a Bedroom

**A/N: I've already bought most of the study books that I need for the following weeks. Unfortunately, one of the course has eight books. Guess I'll have to say bye bye to my free time. :( Anyways, this is a continuation of the previous chapter. First Time Sharing a Bedroom, as requested by HawkRider. ******Terra's 17 years old, and Aqua's 16. Enjoy. ;D****

****Thank ******you: HawkRider. :)  
><strong>

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><p><em>~ <em>"You actually brought it with you?" Aqua asked incredulously.<em> ~_

* * *

><p>Before they had rented this room in the most beautiful (and only) hotel Aqua had ever set foot in, Master Eraqus had asked them if they were okay with sharing a room together. Neither of them had said no, but Aqua had been a little nervous at the prospect of sleeping with Terra in the same room. She was not sure why. Maybe it was because this would be their first time sharing a room (and the adjoined bathroom).<p>

The Master was still downstairs, discussing something business-related with a kind wizard named Merlin (his blue robe actually looked good on him).

Aqua shifted slightly in her bed, squinting her eyes slightly, just to be able to see Terra's form in the bed next to her. "Terra," she whispered.

"Yeah?" he whispered back.

"You awake?" she asked automatically, before frowning.

Of course he was awake now; even if he had been sleeping, then she had woken him up with her stupid questions.

"Yeah, not sleepy yet. You?"

"Me neither... What do you think of this world?"

It took Terra a while to formulate an answer. "It's great. I wish I'd lived here."

Aqua nodded silently until she realized that he couldn't see her. "Me too... Why are we whispering?"

Terra let out a loud laugh at that (or maybe it just sounded so lound because it had been too quiet in the room prior). "No idea. You started it. Hey, let's play another round on the Command Board. Winner gets to go to the bathroom first tomorrow."

"You actually brought it with you?" Aqua asked incredulously.

"Yes, I just knew that neither of us would be able to sleep tonight," he said jokingly.

Aqua smiled, climbing out of bed to be closer to the Command Board. And in hindsight, Aqua had no idea why she had been dreading this so much.

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><p><strong>AN: ****Next chapter: _There were so many things that he still didn't know about girls, or Aqua in particular. Their secrets, traditions and rituals were a whole new world to him.  
><em>**


	19. First Time Having a Shared Bathroom

**A/N: This is a continuation of the previous chapter. First Time Having a Shared Bathroom, as requested by HawkRider. ******Terra's 17 years old, and Aqua's 16. Enjoy. ;D****

****Thank ******you: 7th Scale, and Coolgal342. :)  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>~ <em>There were so many things that he still didn't know about girls, or Aqua in particular. Their secrets, traditions and rituals were a whole new world to him.<em> ~_

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><p>"At last," Terra said with a roll of his cobalt blue eyes. "I thought you <em>died <em>in there."

"Oh, quiet you," Aqua chided. "You took twice as long as me yesterday and you never heard me about it, did you?"

"Twice as long? As if."

With that, the brunet teen walked past his friend and entered the bathroom. When he was sure that he had locked the door behind him, he finally bothered to look around. This bathroom was light-blue and tidy. Still, it had a feminine touch to it, now that Aqua's stuff was put in the cabinets. Terra paused when his eyes caught her makeup. There were pencils (at least, that was what he guessed they were) and a yellow item that he recognized as mascara. Next to that, though…

"What in the worlds," Terra started, almost in awe.

He picked up something that looked like a scissor, but the end of it was blunt and strangely distorted, so it couldn't possibly be meant for cutting stuff.

_What the heck is Aqua supposed to be doing with these?_ he wondered, carefully putting the weird scissor-thing back in its place.

He decided that he'd rather not know. There were so many things that he still didn't know about girls, or Aqua in particular. Their secrets, traditions and rituals were a whole new world to him. One that he would give up a limb for if it meant that he could catch a glimpse if it for just a minute.

_Whatever, I might as well hurry up now, before she starts calling me a slowpoke too._

With that thought in mind, Terra decided to forget about the mysterious ways in which girls' minds worked. For now though.

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><p><strong>AN: That was supposed to be lash curler lol.**

**Next chapter: _"Who was your first crush?"  
><em>**


	20. First Crush

**A/N: ******Terra's 18 years old here, and Aqua's 17. Enjoy. ;D****

****Thank ******you: Amulet Misty Angelic Warrior, 7th Scale, and Coolgal342. :)  
><strong>

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><p><em>~ <em>"Who was your first crush?"<em> ~_

* * *

><p>"Hey Aqua."<p>

Aqua looked up when Terra put the glass of cool cherry juice in front of her (her favorite drink in the worlds and Terra knew that. He had gotten himself a glass too). "Yes?"

She closed her book and put it aside so that she could talk with Terra.

"Who was your first crush?"

This question caught the bluenette teen so off-guard that she'd almost automatically replied with, "Terra."

Fortunately for her, she was able to bite her tongue right on time. Instead, she gave him a somewhat suspicious glance and asked after a moment of silence, "Why do you want to know?"

Terra shrugged. "Call it curiosity. So what was he like?"

_Was_… Aqua almost wanted to laugh at the word choice. If only he knew that she had never stopped crushing on him after all these years. And she was only falling deeper and deeper every passing day…

"I can't tell you that," she replied steadfastly, not looking him in the eye, because she knew that her eyes couldn't lie.

Why did he suddenly want to know, anyway? Had he...found out about something by chance?

Terra, however, wasn't going to let her off that easily. "Why not?"

_Because...it's you..._

"Because… I can't."

"Oh, come on now! Not even a name? How big is the chance that I know him when you lived in another world?" Terra tried, but it was of no use; no matter what he said, Aqua wouldn't budge.

He could see that all the attention had made her start blushing, but she still didn't want to talk.

"What about you? Who was your first crush then?" Aqua asked, desperately trying to change the subject.

"Me?" For a moment, he seemed to be just as surprised as she'd been at the question. Then, he replied, "I've never had a crush on anyone before."

Had Aqua been paying closer attention to her friend, she would have noticed the light coloring of his cheeks and the "Deer-Caught-into-the-Headlights" look that his poker face was not quite able to hide. Aqua however, had become too happy and hopeful to notice these details. How could she not, when there was no one waiting for Terra to come back? That meant that she had all the more chance to find the way to his heart. And find it, she would.

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><p><strong>AN: ****Next chapter: _"That wasn't a compliment!"_**


	21. First Time I Nursed You Back to Health

**A/N: This was o**riginally chapter 12: Contagious of my challenge '_Aquatic Angel_.' If you want to read about Aqua taking care of Terra (which is this chapter's prequel), it's chapter 9 "Immune" of my Terqua alphabet story; _Hard to Breathe_ (which I'm going to work on after finishing this collection). I'm sorry that it's such a mess when it comes to where I uploaded my Terqua pieces. They're everywhere now and I can hardly keep track of them lol. Also, since this collection is more focussed on TerraxAqua, Ven will probably not make an appearance (never say never though). Anyway, ********Terra's 18 years old here, and Aqua's 17. Enjoy. ;D******  
><strong>

****Thank ******you: 7th Scale, Amulet Misty, HawkRider, HeartofFyrwinde, and Angelic Warrior. :)  
><strong>

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><p><em>~ <em>"That wasn't a compliment!"<em> ~_

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><p>Aqua let out a rather annoyed sigh and looked at her brunet friend. Her patience was wearing thin, what with the way he was acting, and he probably knew it too. Heck, she wouldn't put it past him if he was doing it on purpose, too, just so that he would get his way this time.<p>

"Terra, just drop the subject already, all right? I'm fine, I promise."

No sooner had she said that or she grimaced; her back felt as if it had been scrubbed badly while the skin had been on fire.

Terra shook his head, almost as though he couldn't believe that she was lying to him like that. "No, you're not. You're coughing, you're feeling cold, I just know that your back hurts by the way you're walking and you look sick. No, you _are_ sick-"

"No, I'm not!" Aqua quickly interrupted, but Terra still went on, as if he hadn't heard her.

"And it's all my fault. I shouldn't have forgotten that it was contagious." He dropped his head in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, Aqua."

It had been so nice when she had taken care of him. He hadn't even minded being sick, because she made everything better with her soft, sweet voice and gentle touches (maybe he should become sick more often if it meant that she would look after him).

Aqua thought that in a way, it was extremely adorable how he felt so guilty over something that he'd had no power over. Still, at the moment, she felt more annoyance than appreciation.

"Terra, for the last time, if there's anyone to blame here, it's me. It was _my_ idea to look after you when you got sick after all."

"And now I'm returning the favor." In a gentler tone, he urged, "Get some sleep. You'll feel so much better when you wake up. I speak from experience, you know."

Aqua sighed deeply, but still got up from her seat near the fire. As soon as she did so, a shiver ran down her spine and judging by that look that the older pupil was giving her, he hadn't failed to notice her doing that. Darn Terra and his unusual sharpness.

"You're impossible, you know that?" she said, exasperated.

He could be so pushy sometimes (but that didn't mean that she wasn't appreciating it).

"Why thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment!"

Terra smirked. "Whatever."

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><p><strong>AN: ****Next chapter: _"What do you mean? You dance all the time," he blurted out, before he could stop himself._**


	22. First Dance

**A/N: At last, a slightly longer chapter. XD I was starting to think that I would never be able to write something other than drabbles for this collection. ******Terra's still 18 years old here, and Aqua's 17. This is one of those chapters that I really liked writing. Not sure why, though. Maybe it's because I'm still waiting for my own "Terra" to ask me to dance -is being shot-. Okay, I'll stop now. XD Enjoy. ;D******  
><strong>

****Thank ******you: 7th Scale, HawkRider, Melodious-Nocturne3, Angelic Warrior, and Roxie-fearlesstorm. :)  
><strong>

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><p><em>~ "What do you mean? You dance all the time," he blurted out lamely, before he could stop himself. ~<em>

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><p>"Care to join me?" Terra asked, as he extended a muscular arm to her, asking the surprised bluenette to dance.<p>

Aqua's heart skipped a beat, like it always did when the light made Terra look breathtakingly handsome.

"Uhm, actually… I've never danced with someone before," Aqua admitted shyly, not taking his hand.

"What do you mean? You dance all the time," he blurted out lamely, before he could stop himself. "I-I mean, it _looks_ like dancing when you fight. The way you move and all..."

His voice faltered when he realized how stupid he was probably sounding right now. Honestly, of all the things he could say in such a moment...

_Yeah, that was really smooth, Terra_, he thought, sarcastically, resisting the urge to facepalm (because let's face it; that would only make him look like an even bigger idiot).

It was so unfair; Ven could totally pull this off and sound incredibly cute with it, too. Terra, however, was always at a loss of words around Aqua. It felt as though he lost his ability to speak as soon as someone mentioned her... Highly annoying and not at all charming.

Not sure if she should take his surprising words as a compliment or be highly offended instead, Aqua replied with, "I'm serious. I don't know how to dance. What's so strange about that?"

"Nothing! I... Never mind." It was silent between them for a moment, until Terra suggested, "I could teach you, if you'd like?"

Aqua looked from his face to his still extended hand, only to look back into his eyes again. It was more than obvious that she was hesitating whether to say yes or no. And she had more than one reason for that.

To assure her that she would do just fine, Terra hastened to add, "It's not as hard as it looks, and since you're a quick learner, I doubt you'll be facing any problems."

A faint blush colored her cheeks (partly from Terra's compliment and partly from the prospect of dancing with him) when she quietly replied, "Oh... Alright, then. I suppose I could give it a try."

The brunet allowed a small, victorious smile to adorn his handsome face. "That's the spirit."

Aqua took his hand and allowed him to pull her on her feet. Suddenly, she felt twice as small as him, especially when she compared her own slender shoulders to Terra's broad ones. And now that she wasn't wearing her boots, Terra seemed slightly taller than usual, too.

"Alright, let's get into the right position first," Terra said patiently.

_Okay...that could be taken wrong in so many ways_, Terra thought, and he hoped that Aqua hadn't noticed that. Of course she hadn't; her mind was so pure that it was adorable in a way.

He gently grasped her right arm in his left arm, and put her left arm on his shoulder.

"But there's no music," Aqua noted, baffled.

"We don't need music. We have our own... Now, for the steps, we'll be counting till three, and first, this foot will have to move forwards, while I move mine back..." Terra instructed.

Aqua tried to listen, she really did, but... Was that a new aftershave he was using today? And why oh why was his shirt so tight that she could practically see every muscle ripple under it when he moved around her? Was he doing it on purpose, tormenting her like this!?

"Sorry, could you repeat that last part, please?" Aqua suddenly asked.

"Sure, why not. The thing is..."

Aaaand she was zoning out again.

Their proximity was making her head spin.

To distract herself from all of that, she asked, "Where did you learn to dance like this, if I may ask?"

Because as far as she knew, Terra's was raised in a poor family, just like her. At least, that was what he had told her.

"Oh, my mother taught me. She was originally a duchess, or something. And we all know how many parties those rich people throw, so dancing was natural to her," he replied with a shrug.

"Oh, I see."

That made sense.

"You're actually a natural," he then said, and it was true; Aqua had had absolutely no problem with picking up the steps and following his lead.

"Guys, what are you doing?"

Aqua let out a sharp gasp at the familiar voice. Both pupils let go of each other quickly, making it look as though they got an electric shock.

"Ven!" they cried simultaneously, looking at their blonde friend as though he was a ghost.

Apparently, Terra and Aqua had thought that he'd fallen asleep hours ago. Unfortunately, they had to learn the truth the hard way...

"I uh...nothing. I got to go," Aqua quickly said, as she rushed to the door.

"Huh, what's with her?" Ven asked when she had left, confused.

Terra approached Ven to hit him on the back of the head.

"Ow!_ Terra_! That hurt!"

"You _idiot_."

"What did I even do?" he whined, holding his throbbing head.

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><p><strong>AN: Oh Ven, always ready to interrupt a Terqua moment. We don't expect anything different. And yet, they both still love him. XD And this is why I love Terqua. *heart* This should also kinda explain why he is so courteous in BBS (with Cinderella and all) lol. And omg, only one chapter to go now! :O**

**Next chapter: _This would definitely be a great time for the ground to open up and swallow her..._**


	23. First Kiss

**A/N: There we go then, the very last chapter. First Kiss, as requested by HawkRider. Thank you so much everyone for sticking with me for so long! *-* Without you guys, I probably wouldn't have been able to finish it this quickly (I'm talking about the second half of the story, with the quicker updates lol). This is supposed to take place during/at the end of KH3.****** Enjoy. ;D******  
><strong>

****Thank ******you: Amulet Misty, 7th Scale, Coolgal342, and HawkRider. :)  
><strong>

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><p><em>~ <em>This would definitely be a great time for the ground to open up and swallow her...<em> ~_

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><p>Aqua felt as though this was the first time in two whole minutes that she was able to breathe properly again. Of course, she had hoped that this ritual would allow Terra to get his body back, but her rational side had told her not to get her hopes up, only for it to be crushed down when it wouldn't work. However, now that it really had happened, she felt strangely lightheaded.<p>

She knew she wasn't dreaming, but why did it still feel that way? Maybe because it was too good to be true?

The Terra that she knew as a child was _finally_ back. His hair was beautifully dark brown again and his eyes were no longer a penetrating gold that would haunt you in your dreams. Cobalt blue looked better on him, anyway. It was easy to tell that he was still slightly disoriented and weak (that adorable, sheepish look that made her want to hug the heck out of him totally gave him away), but Aqua simply couldn't care, nor could she hold herself in any longer; she practically threw herself to him to give him the biggest hug ever. Needless to say, Aqua was more than glad when he put his muscular arms around her. His warmth and familiar scent made her let out a deep, happy sigh.

From now on, there would be no "Good old times", because the good would be happening in the present again. With Terra on her side, nothing would ever wear her down.

But she was so tired, and so relieved to have him back after all these years of darkness plaguing her mind, heart and body, that she felt fresh tears pooling in her eyes. Her throat was constricting too, indicating that if she didn't do something soon, she would be crying her eyes out in front of all the seven Keybearers of Light (and Terra...). Aqua felt like she could break down any moment, but if it was in his arms, nothing would matter anymore.

Sora, who was not even a Master yet, had somehow defeated Xehanort and her Terra, her _everything _was back…

Before her brains could register what was happening, she had stood on her tiptoes and was kissing him right on the lips. It felt even better than she had imagined; his lips were soft, warm and delightful, and he just tasted like home, lazy afternoons, and something sweet and…waffles perhaps? It was a weird, but perfect combination of everything that she loved.

Terra's eyes then widened in sheer surprise when realization set in, as well as hers (but hers were more out of shock that she had actually done this).

This would definitely be a great time for the ground to open up and swallow her...

So she pulled away quickly, apologizing for her random action, but Terra merely motioned for her to be silent, taking the initiative this time to pull her closer and kiss her like he had never done before. Again, all rational thought left the bluenette. She didn't even care that all the others (_Ven_!) were watching them.

"Welcome back," she muttered in his chest, and his grip on her merely tightened, because there were no words that could describe how he was feeling right now.

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><p><strong>AN: Ah finally; one Terqua story finished, two more to go. :3 I can do this. :P**

**REVIEW SHOUT-OUT: MonMonCandie, Terra ForceXIII, Chandramukhi, Jizzle Pop, Gohan Roxas, miano53, outofthesun, Neusuada, AngelicWinds, Walker of Nothing, Amulet Misty, TopazDragon98, Starry Requiem, roobaby2011, InomaCallain, 7th Scale, AuthoressSai, Child Of The West Wind, HawkRider, krikanalo, HeartofFyrwinde, Coolgal342, Guest, Shadow, Angelic Warrior, and last, but certainly not least, Melodious-Nocturne3.**


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